Method of constructing vehicle bodies



Feb.-4, 1930. s. F. BLANCH 1,745,352

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING VEHICLE BODIES v Fiied April 4, 1929 [NVE/VTOR:

1 49 FB'anc/L,

AC C S.

Patented Feb. 4, i930 j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING VEHICLE BODIES Application filed April 4, 1929, Serial No. 352,496, and in Great Britain May 31, 1928.

The invention relates to a method of con structing vehicle bodies and is particularly applicable to motor car bodies and similar structures, its object being to provide resiliency and lightness of construction as well as cheapness and better wearing qualities.

The coachbuilt bodies of motor cars are generally heavy and are being replaced to someextent by what is known as fabric bodies,

wherein fabric is stretched and glued, sheet metal, such as aluminium, being used at certain parts of the structure, where there are curves, to support said fabric.

The difliculty arising with this type of body is that the glue or the like used for holding down the fabric soon becomes affected by the weather and especially the sun which causes the material to wrinkle or form bumps permitting moisture to percolate which eventual- 1y affects the metal support which corrodes,

forms similar asperities and so on.

Furthermore, when fabric is stretched over the metal parts made of sheet metal, aluminium or the like, it is impossible for the fabric to breathe, that is to say, for air to reach the metal side of the fabric thereby causing' the corrosion of the metal employed and consequent rotting of the fabric.

According to the present invention, instead of using a framework carcass of sheet metal at certain parts- I propose to support the fabric or like covering material at parts where there are bends or curves by means of separate sheets of perforated or slotted metal of such thickness as to possess sufficient strength to withstand ordinary usage, but in itself flexible so that it can be bent or shaped to I the bend or curvature required.

An example of the manner in which I propose to carry out my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 represents part of the back of the framework of a motor car and Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view therethrough and wherer in 1 represents the framework and 2, 3, 4 and 5 are separate sheets of perforated metal such as I propose to employ according to my invention. Said sheets may be fixed to the framework 1 in any suitable manner, for ex- 50 ample by means of staples driven into said wooden framework, the limbs of said staples passing through adjacent holes in the sheet of perforated metal, or by means of screws or nails passing through said holes into the woodwork 1, or otherwise.

Separate sheets of perforated metal such as those illustrated, shaped to give the desired contour, may be employed at any part of the wooden framework of the car Where it is desired to support the fabric 6 or like covering as will be readily understood, said fabric being secured by glue 7 or other adhesive, to the perforated sheets in the usual way hereinbefore described.

By constructing said metal parts in the manner hereinbefore described they are light and cheap whilst the covering material is permitted to breathe which is necessary for the good upkeep of the fabric.

Furthermore such perforated material is easier to Work than solid material and has the advantage of flexibility or resiliency, which the principle of bodies known-by the proprietary name VVeymann type requires.

By substituting perforated sheet metal for the imperforate metal heretofore employed, as the base upon which the external fabric is glued or cemented, the rapid deterioration of the fabric, heretofore encountered, is eliminated. The sweating and consequent humid atmosphere, present in the dead air space between the inner and outer walls of the vehicle bodies, as formerly constructed, has caused such corrosion and oxidation of the metal and such deterioration of the glue or other adhesive used for securing the external fabric to the outer face of the outer wall, as to bring about rapid rotting of the fabric and destruction of the adhesive, with consequent early separation of said fabric fromthe metal. As far as I am aware, I am the first to provide a vehicle body in which the outer walls of the main body consist of perforated sheet metal of such a nature that its outer face presents a relatively smooth surface to which a fabric is secured by glue or other adhesive, said metal being perforated so that the air at outside temperature may find its way to the space between the inner and outer walls and so ventilate said space as to prevent condensation fabric from the of moisture or sweating therein. To provide a successful and practicable structure which will accomplish the results that I seek requires that the metal plates be a part of the outside wall of the body of the vehicle; that these plates be perforated for the passage of outer air to the spacebetween the inner and outer walls of the vehicle body; that the perforations be of such size with relation to their center to center spacing that they will not show through the fabric; that the outer faces of the plates be smooth or free of outward protuberances which would show through the fabric and that the plates be of such rigidity as to adapt them to form the various bends at the corners of the vehicle body.

'I claim: I

Avehicle body composed of aplurality of spaced wooden frame members tied together by an outside wall ofthe body portion of the vehicle, said outside Wall consisting of a base formed of sectional plates and a covering of a single layer of fabric adhesively secured to the outer faces of said plates, said plates being provided with a multiplicity of perforations substantially throughout their area and presenting smooth outer surfaces and being of such inherent rigidity as to maintain the external form of the vehicle; the perforations of the plates being so small with respect to their center to center spacing that the form of such openings Will not show through the covering fabric when the latter is adhesively secured thereto, the said perforations permitting the passage of outside air through the fabric to the space between the inner and outer walls of the vehicle to prevent sweating and consequent deterioration of the adhesive and fabric and resultant separation of the plates. 7

SYDNEY FERDINAND BLANCH. 

